In April 2019 Adam McKay and Will Ferrell publicly announced they were separating as producing partners at Gary Sanchez Productions — the company that had overseen hits like Anchorman, Talladega Nights and numerous Funny or Die stunts. What at first looked like a routine business split later curdled into personal grievance: it emerged that McKay had cast longtime collaborator John C. Reilly as Jerry Buss on the HBO Lakers drama Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty — a part Ferrell reportedly coveted. Ferrell learned he’d been passed over only after the casting was announced, and sources close to the pair framed the rift as less about money than about a breach of trust between two comedy partners who had co-written, produced and publicly fronted projects for nearly two decades.
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AI concept artworkArchive Record · 2010s
The 2019 Breakup of Gary Sanchez Productions — A Partnership Split Over a Coveted Role
Adam McKay & Will Ferrell / Gary Sanchez Productions / 2010s
In April 2019 Adam McKay and Will Ferrell publicly announced they were separating as producing partners at Gary Sanchez Productions — the company that had overseen hits like Anchorman, Talladega Nights and numerous Funny or Die stunts. What at first looked like a routine business split later curdled into personal grievance: it emerged that McKay had cast longtime collaborator John C. Reilly as Jerry Buss on the HBO Lakers drama Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty — a part Ferrell reportedly coveted. Ferrell learned he’d been passed over only after the casting was announced, and sources close to the pair framed the rift as less about money than about a breach of trust between two comedy partners who had co-written, produced and publicly fronted projects for nearly two decades.
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